Charm and Grace

This lovely child is the daughter of Matt and Maria Russell. Melanie has a sweet vivacious spirit. She is playful and kind with other children. If I had to guess, her favorite pastime is singing. You can always hear her singing a tune. She hasn't got a timid bone in her body. She's quick with a question or conversation. What a wonderful child! Melanie was baptized on Saturday, March 28, 2011. The weather was overcast, rainy and cool. There were severe storms later in the afternoon. As you can see in the photo, the dogwoods, cherry trees, and pink magnolias are in bloom, but none were so radiant as Melanie in her white dress. Melanie's parents, sister,  maternal grandparents, Aunt Angie, her children Sam and Anah, Second Cousins John, James, and  Miles, Great Uncle  John, and Great Aunt Paula were present. James' wife & daughter, Bradie and Ellie, and Miles' wife Ashlyn were there. There were many others there that I did not know. The Oconee River Br...

I finished reading Achieving Your Life Mission for the 2nd time. I'm going to read it again. The entire book is inspirational but here are a few things that stood out in my mind... 1.  Everything will conspire against you as you seek to discover and complete your mission on earth.  What would happen if your failed? And more importantly, what would happen if you succeed? 2.  Start from where you are. The past is, well past. 3.  Our mission speaks to us persistently. The dream, the wish, the burning desire to pursue a path is our mission.  I know that I have family history to continue to put into the new.familysearch.org, but it occurred to me that helping my Dad retype his 2nd set of stories for his memoirs is the most important part of family history that I could be working on. 4.  I've wanted to write a book for the longest time.  Settling down on a single project to pursue has been the hardest thing. 5.  I'm going to write about Joy....

Lauren Ann and David were here for a week. Ann and I spent last Saturday together shopping for baby things...sheets, clothes, bathtubs, blankets and all things BABY. They went to Athens on Tuesday for pizza with her brothers. Bradie, Jimmy, Ellie, John, adopted son Dan, Ann and David met us at Granddaddy's & Granny Cris house for some of his marvelous hamburgers. Ann had a chocat (chocolate) pie waiting for her. Granny Cris snatched Ellie right out from under me!!!! Grammy vs. Great Grammy - I let her win! Ann & David left to go back to Virginia Saturday morning. How can my heart stand it???? I don't know how Kathy & Brad let Bradie and Ellie come back to Georgia. I heard a piece of Kathy's wisdom: She just thought of how happy Jimmy would be to see Bradie and Ellie again. OK, so I'm just thinking of how David's parents are joyful over the return of their good son, and beautiful wife, who is great with child. Such is the station of a grandpar...

There will be 29 staff members cut from North Gwinnett High School for the 2011-2012 school year. I actually cannot fully process this because I have no way of knowing the impact that such a cut will have on our school. I'm looking forward to brighter days, just as I'm wishing for the Spring.

 Beginning preparations  The final exams start tomorrow, and most of the grading is done. I'm working on small Christmas preparations each day. This has been a wonderful year. Ellie was born in February, Miles and Ashlyn were married in the South Carolina Temple in March, Lauren & David were married in the Washington D.C. Temple in June, Johnny was hired at UGA as the Chinese Department Chair, Miles is graduating from UGA and applying to medical school, Jimmy has resumed his college coursework, and Jimmy and Bradie announced that they will be sealed in the South Carolina Temple in January. We have so much to be grateful for. This Christmas will be all about gratitude. So, I'm decorating in preparation for the merriest Christmas ever. It's going to be wonderful.

I've made mistakes concerning negotiation. At times I've been a pushover. At other times I've been a bull in a china shop. When I make mistakes like these I'm left wondering how could I have handled things better. Part of the problem is that I'm a woman. When women are assertive, they are considered _itchy. But, I've learned that is just what is necessary, if only rarely . Some people will take advantage of you until you just really draw a line in the sand and make it clear that if that line is crossed, some part of the relationship will just be irreparably damaged. This requires courage. No one really wants to be perceived as a _itch. Neither do you want to be a doormat. Dr. Phil would say that you teach people how to treat you. I think he's right. Since the  "_itch card" should be used sparingly, other skills of negotiation are, well, absolutely vital. Here's my take on negotiation. The first question you must ask yourself is, "What ...